The use of slings as a rifle support is not new to the art. However, the use of sling as a rifle support that is firm, yet flexible, and used in the vertical axis, is. There are many examples of weapon slings being used in the longitudinal axis. U.S. Pat. No. 5,110,022 issued to Dvoroznak on May 5, 1992, entitled “Rifle Sling With Rifle Rest”, teaches a rifle sling that includes an elongated central body portion having a pair of opposed protrusions defining therebetween a recess for receiving the rifle barrel. Ends of the rifle sling are connected to the rifle for carrying the rifle about the shoulder of the user. The body portion of the rifle sling provides a cushion as well as an aid in aiming the rifle when rested. This prior art teaches using the device in a longitudinal axis not in a vertical axis. In fact this prior art device cannot be used in a vertical orientation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,652 issued to Holtzclaw on May 28, 1991, entitled, “Rifle Sling With Rifle Rest”, teaches a rifle sling including an elongated central body portion having a pair of opposed protrusions defining therebetween a recess for receiving the rifle barrel. Ends of the rifle sling are connected to the rifle for carrying the rifle about the shoulder of a user. The body portion of the rifle sling provides a cushion as well as an aid in aiming the rifle, when rested on a support surface. This prior art teaches using the device in a longitudinal axis not in a vertical axis. In fact this prior art device cannot be used in the vertical orientation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,584 issued to Riggenbach on Jul. 1, 1997, entitled, “Gun Sling”, teaches a sling for use with a firearm. The sling includes a rigid body having a pivotable connector for one end, a releasable connector back end, and a firearm engagement section located between the front and the back ends. The rigid body is shaped to form a loop for receiving a user's shoulder once the front end is affixed to the hand grip section and the back end is affixed to the butt section. Furthermore, the rigid body is shaped such that as the back end of the rigid body is pivoted on a pivotable connector. The firearm engagement section is brought into contact with the firearm to allow the back end of the rigid body to be planted and thus support the firearm during firing. This prior art patent teaches a gun sling rest that is used in the longitudinal axis not the vertical axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,322,067 issued to Brood on Dec. 4, 2012, entitled, “Firearm Steady Rest”, teaches a firearm steady rest which is incorporated as part of a rifle sling. The steady rest may be a single support arm or a folded support arm system deployed by a folding it outward to provide either a V-shaped support configuration or a U-shaped support configuration whereby the upwardly extending distal ends of the support engage and support the firearm therebetween. The steady rest may be grasped by the operator's forward extending hand to provide maximum steadying of the firearm for sighting and shooting. A gravity deploying bipod leg set is also provided which automatically locks into position when fully deployed by a gravity slide lock. This prior art device is used in the longitudinal axis and not in the vertical axis. It also depends upon the use of a bipod to fully steady the rest.
The present invention has greater utility over these and all other prior art devices because the prior art devices rely on the use of the longitudinal axis to rest the weapon. They are limited to a narrow strip to rest the gun upon. The present device allows the user to use the rest in the vertical axis and thus the rest and weapon can be flexed from side to side as well as front to back to acquire a moving target. The rest can be flexed while the weapon remains in place. The others rests cannot be used in this manner and thus have limitations not encountered when the present device is used.